Forest boy
by Asuhole
Summary: When Eren arrives at his usual spot, he sees a slumped form sit against the big willow tree – his willow tree. For a moment, he considers to turn around – but his curiosity gets the better of him. He is surprised to find another boy here, thinking that he is commonly the only one around here. He has never met anyone else in the forest before.


Settle the reading format as 1/2 for a better reading experience.

Kindly leave a review when you're done..

Thank you.

Enjoy.

* * *

It starts out as something innocent. Just a habit.

Eren has a tendency to walk around in a certain forest whenever he is done with his lessons, and however silly it may sound; he finds serenity in the nature surrounding the area there. When he is stressed, the forest is where he can find peace or study without anyone interrupting him.

The forest is settled at the outcast of the city Eren lives in, and is big and vigorous, because everything is left in the hands of nature. A bigger city lies close to it, though, and that is where Eren goes to college.

However, whenever he has free time on his hands, he always darts out to that forest for some strange reason – as if it is some strange attraction, which he cannot put words on.

Today, he has been dismissed from class early. He has taken the train home, but has gone off at the station right before the one he usually gets off at. The cause is that this station is closer to the forest.

It takes a while to get there, but he sighs heavily and in relief when he sees the roots of the forest – right where the grass becomes longer and untended.

The light is dim. Nonetheless, it is alluring – calming and enticing. Eren darts his glance upwards and at the few rays of sunshine peeking out from above – shimming through the vibrant green leaves still hanging on the trees. A gentle breeze sweeps through the crowns. He really likes it here.

Throughout months, this has been his hiding place, so he knows where to go. He knows where his spot is – his special spot - and as he glances forward at a little path of stomped grass, it being the route he usually takes to get there.

The atmosphere is different today, he thinks to himself. There is some strange nagging in the back of his head, like a need to be aware and cautious. As if he is not here by himself, as he usually is.

He is not wrong, though.

When he arrives at his usual spot, he sees a slumped form sit against the big willow tree – his willow tree. For a moment, he considers to turn around – but his curiosity gets the better of him. He is surprised to find other people here, thinking that he is commonly the only one around here. He has never met anyone else in the forest.

Something tickles his nerves when he gets closer, trying to trot softly in order not to make too much noise or make his entrance rowdily obvious. He walks around the trunk of the tree and observes the person.

The person seems to be asleep, sitting against the trunk with his back against it, and his legs are crossed. He hangs his head in his sleep, looking peaceful there. He must be around fifteen or so, Eren thinks.

Eren squats down from a somewhat safe distance in order to get a better view of the stranger.

The boy has a strange haircut, and his hair is onyx black, framing the top of his head with a sharp cut. He is pale, and his skin looks delicate and somehow fragile. He has a strong jaw and sharp features, despite his young age. Eren can tell that he is definitely handsome one way or another.

What makes Eren curious, though, is the clothes the boy is wearing. He is only wearing a shirt and some pants – the gray shirt is shredded at the edges, and there are holes in the pants, too. His clothes is in general messy, although there is no dirt there, for some reason. To top it off, he wears only a pair of flat, shabby looking sneakers.

Something commences to shape in Eren's throat as he notices hos muscular the boy is, too, although the boy does not yet seem to have reached full maturity or height. He still looks small – in a peculiar way.

Eren has an uneasy feeling in his gut, thinking that this might not be entirely normal – or the normal look for an average boy.

The boy's eyes open abruptly - silver tinted eyes glaring right back at Eren with a quick snap of his head, and Eren nearly yells in surprise and scrambles backwards, now sitting on his bum on the forest floor.

''God, you scared me,'' Eren sighs after a minute, closing his eyes as he rubs his fingers there, trying to contemplate what he is to do now. More likely, how to excuse his behavior and the fact that he has been staring at the stranger sleep for the past couple of minutes.

The boy does not say anything. In fact, he does not move at all, and sits in the same position, glaring at Eren with an unchanging look in his eyes. Not a muscle in the boy's face moves.

It is quiet. The only thing audible is Eren's heavy in- and exhaling, still recovering from the shock – and the noise of the lively life in the forest, bugs buzzing in the distance.

Eren gathers himself and sits on his shins, fixing the strap on his shoulder bag. He feels something akin to embarrassment flush along his cheeks, and he bows his head and apologizes. It sounds awkward, and he is not sure how to frame the words, nor knows how to make it sound normal.

The boy still does not move an inch, and he only but blinks his eyes and continues to stare. After a while, he straightens his back and moves his shoulders about, a distant cracking erupting as he loosens knots in his back.

It may seem like the best idea just to leave. However, that does not lie in Eren's nature, so instead he stays, somehow stubbornly.

''What's your name?'' he asks, trying to stare back at the boy.

The boy opens his mouth as if to speak, but nothing comes out, and he then pauses. When Eren inches a little forward, the boy immediately tenses up and changes his stance, the balls of his feet digging into the ground as if he is ready to spring up and do something impulsive.

Eren freezes.

''Levi.'' The boy says with a rusty voice.

''Levi…,'' Eren repeats, tasting the name on his tongue, repeating it a few couple of times. ''That's an unique name,'' he then adds, blinking his eyes. He perks up and rubs the nape of his neck – ''Oh yeah, my name is Eren, by the way.''

''Eren,'' the boy – or Levi says. Something softens in his eyes, if even possible, and a curious look appears on his face.

Not much conversing happens from there on, but at last, Eren manages to sit himself next to Levi, resting again the trunk of the tree, too. They do not talk about much, as mentioned. Only about small things. Only briefly. Levi is not that much of a talker – at least not now, Eren notices. However, whenever Eren mentions something about his family, his hometown or his friends, Levi perks up – just a bit, showing signs of interest.

Eren explains why he comes here every so often.

''I've seen you here before,'' Levi says, voice neutral.

Eren tilts his head at this. He has never seen Levi before. ''Do you live in the forest?'' Eren then asks, and feels stupid for doing so, because it sounds as if taken out of a fantasy movie, and he grits his teeth and thinks that Levi might laugh at him.

Levi does not laugh, though.

''I don't,'' he answers, quietly. ''I only come here because I like the place. It's better than being at the orphanage,'' he explains, averting eye-contact.

Eren feels as if a stone sinks inside his gut, lying there heavily.

''For how long have you been at the orphanage?'' he hesitantly asks, and he plucks some of the high grasses and rolls the blades between his fingers.

''Three years. Before that, I was in a gang in one of the bigger towns.''

Eren does not ask more than this, and only but nods.

By the time they are done small chatting, Eren looks at his watch and nearly feels his eyes pop out of their sockets. He is supposed to meet up with Armin and Mikasa in just ten minutes. ''It was nice talking to you, Levi,'' he says, scrambling to stand up as he puts on his shoulder bag again, adjusting the strap. ''I have to go now though – or my friends might get mad,'' he chuckles. Levi looks indifferent, nodding slowly.

''See you, Levi!''

* * *

Two days passes before Eren goes back to the forest. He somehow hopes to meet up with Levi again, but laughs at the thought – finding it unlikely to happen.

Moreover, he is right – Levi is nowhere to be seen, so when Eren sits against the trunk of the well-known willow tree, he sighs heavily and fishes out a book from his bag and starts to read. He adamantly tries to ignore the anticipation in his stomach that says that Levi might show up.

Eren flinches when the snap of a twig sounds next to him, and when he looks up from the book, Levi is standing in front of him, looking down at him.

''Levi,'' Eren says – almost breathlessly.

''Eren.''

It becomes a routine.

* * *

Every third day he will head to the forest – and Levi will be there. Sometimes, Levi is already there when he comes, and at other times, he shows up a little later.

They do not always talk. Occasionally, nothing is said between them – not even a gesture to welcome the other. They just sit next to each other, with their backs against the trunk of the craning willow tree. Eren usually reads, and sometimes Levi does too, or brings out some paperwork and finishes his own homework.

Levi is intelligent, Eren finds out rather quickly, when Levi sometimes is to help him with for an example mathematics – despite Eren being eighteen and thus three years older than him. He is also good at social studies and things alike, and is interested in humans, although none of it is something Levi has said aloud. It is just something that Eren notices ever so slowly the more Levi opens up and begins to talk frequently.

* * *

They also have a fight one day. Levi has a tendency to be perhaps a bit too blunt or unapproachable regarding certain things, and accidentally yaps hurtful words to Eren. Eren gets mad, which results that they quarrel, and Eren leaves when things get heated.

After that, Eren does not come back for a week. Then – when he finally cools down and trots his way back, Levi is sitting underneath the shadow of the tree, awaiting his arrival.

They do not hug it out. In fact, throughout the months, they have never touched – not even once. When Eren sits down next to Levi, the boy looks the other way, fidgets something out of his bag, and lays it in Eren's lap, subsequently regarding his own matters, burying his nose in an old Nintendo game.

The thing in Eren's lap is a book. A book filled with Fairy tales. Eren remembers having told Levi that he as a child loved fairy tales of all kinds, and would constantly beg his mother to read them for him.

Levi has remembered this. Just for Eren.

That is the only kind of apology he will receive from Levi right now, and that is just fine.

* * *

Time passes by.

Autumn becomes winter.

Winter becomes spring.

Spring becomes summer.

And summer becomes a time of change.

* * *

Today, Eren visits the forest late in the midday. The sun is still high on the sky, and everything is warm.

However, his words are not.

Levi is there too – and they sit there. Right there, where they always sit.

''I have to finish my studies in another country,'' Eren forces the words out, sounding as if having trouble getting the words right.

Levi jerks his head Eren's way, and for the first time, Eren sees such an impactful change in his eyes.

''For how long will you be gone?''

Eren does not answer for a while, looking down at the ground and at his lap.

''Three years,'' he says.

Eren expects Levi to react more aggressively – expects just any kind of reaction.

When Eren looks up at him again, he looks only but distant, nodding his head slowly.

''Will I see you again?''

''You will! I'll come home in the vacations, okay?''

''Promise?''

''Promise.''

* * *

The first couple of weeks after the departure, Eren messages Levi every day – constantly keeping him aware of what is going on with his studies and things alike.

For every day, Levi's answers keep getting more and more distant. Shorter.

After two months, Levi stops answering Eren's messages.

Eren continues to message him anyway, although he only does it once weekly.

Levi never answers.

Eren keeps messaging him.

Eren comes home for Christmas and almost immediately visits the forest, making Levi aware of his arrival.

Levi never comes, though.

The next time Eren comes back again during a week of vacation, Levi still does not answer, nor meet up at their special place.

After a year and a half, Levi still does not answer.

After two years, Eren keeps messaging him at monthly occasions.

After three years, Eren still has not heard a word from Levi, not even once.

In the summer, Eren comes home again and settles down in his hometown.

He sends Levi one last message before going to sleep, already having sent five during the day from when he had been in the plane.

* * *

The next morning, he spends the day with Armin and Mikasa and his other friends, going to a restaurant and subsequently a karaoke bar. In the evening, he returns home and looks in the mirror, staring at himself. He has not changed much during the past three years. His hair has only become longer, and still frames his face in a somehow boyish way – scruffy, but soft locks cascades down his cheeks and trails down his neck. He picks at the bangs mindlessly, glaring into his own almond shaped eyes and their peculiar color – a muddy turquoise that sometimes seems blue – other times green.

He wonders how Levi might look like now.

* * *

The forest looks like itself from the top to the bottom. For a forest, three years is nothing, Eren thinks, but the forest still seems different to him now. It is still bright, but an alluring sensation lingers in the atmosphere, as if something is not the same. Nonetheless, he feels just calm trotting around, and although his usual path is overgrown, he can still find his way to the willow tree. Their willow tree.

He shoves his phone down the pocket of his jeans and stands from afar, perceiving it crane in the wind, the leaves fluttering softly as it creates a familiar sound. He walks towards it and when he sits down, he takes a deep breath through his nose, inhaling the fresh air.

Many memories have been made here, he thinks, tracing a finger along the rough bark on the tree. He rests his back and the back of his head against the trunk of the tree, glancing up at the crown - rays of light shimmering through. He sits like that for a while, feeling drowsy – as if the leaves´ fluttering and the noise of forest life creates a lullaby that puts him to sleep.

Something pinches him back to reality a little later – like some strange feeling nagging the back of his mind, telling him to wake up. He breathes heavily, and the world slowly becomes clear, starting with the recognition of the familiar sounds of birds chirping. He opens his eyes slowly, everything being blurry, so he blinks his eyes once or twice. He cannot focus for a while, but notices that something dark is in his view – in front of him.

He startles awake and his shoulders flinches, eyes widening as he realizes that a person is squatted down in front of him, almost on eye-level, although the person is taller.

''Eren,'' a smooth, somehow groused voice says.

Eren jerks his body backwards, if even possible closer to the trunk, staring wide-eyed at the stranger in front of him.

''God, you scared me,'' he wheezes, carding his fingers through his hair as he grimaces, sighing deeply afterwards. He looks down his lap, trying to catch his breath and to recover from the shock.

''Who're you?'' he asks subsequently, looking up at the stranger.

The stranger looks back at him – glaring impudently, his face not moving an inch.

There is a silver tint to his eyes when the light is angled right, and he has a strong jaw and a strange haircut. His hair is midnight black, and his shoulders are broad and firm – muscular built. His features are sharp – and the moment Eren realizes that the stranger is more than familiar, something clenches inside his chest and his mouth feels dry.

''Levi?'' he croaks, almost breathlessly.

Levi reaches his hand forward, cupping Eren's cheek with a longing, fond touch.

''I've missed you,'' is all he says – not a man of many words.

A man.

It feels as if the time is going in slow-motion, and all Eren can hear is the beating of his temples throbbing persistently. Several feelings wells up from his stomach to his throat, and escapes through his mouth.

''You—You fucking asshole!'' he yells, tackling Levi to the ground, pushing him onto his back on the forest floor as he sits on the start of his stomach and his crotch. ''Why did you- why,'' Eren constantly rearranges his sentences, as if not knowing how to form the correct words to describe how he is feeling. He fists a handful of Levi's black shirt, the other hand wavering dangerously in the air, as if he is about to punch him.

He does not, though.

''Three years-'' Eren says, and his voice breaks over in the middle and turns into a hollow whisper. ''For three years…,'' he repeats, shaking on his head, shutting his eyes closed. He cannot hold it in anymore, and the barrier he has tried to hold up for so long shatters in a matter of mere seconds.

''How could you,'' he whispers, ending it with a sharp inhale. He lets go of Levi and lowers his fist, instead rubbing his eyes dazedly, slowly – and the look on his face looks as if belonging to a child – not a twenty-two year old graduating student. His sight turns blurry and warmth traces down his cheeks. He sobs aloud, murmuring unintelligible words, breath hitching repeatedly.

Levi takes a hold of his hands, grabbing him by his wrists. He raises his torso so that Eren glides down to sit on his crotch, and he lowers Eren's arm to look him in the eyes. Eren's eyes are red and puffy. ''Eren,'' Levi tries to say, but it turns into a faint whisper – barely audible – something caught in his throat. ''I'm sorry – I'm sorry, Eren,'' he says and even though Eren resists and tries to push him away, he draws him closer and lets Eren hide his face in the crook of his neck.

''I'm so sorry,'' he continues to say, voice sounding clogged the more he speaks. ''I was scared.''

Eren's shoulders hunch up at this.

''I thought—it would be better if I stopped texting you, because it hurt. It hurts so much. I can't—'' he shivers, grimacing – and a lot of emotions travels across his face. ''I can't be loved- people—I can't love—it hurts. It hurt so much. You shouldn't have done that for me—I couldn't—it felt—surreal,'' he struggles with his words, shoulders trembling all the while. He murmurs the words against Eren's hair – then his temple as he kisses it with a hitched exhale.

''When I realized that I had feelings for you, I got scared. I got scared by the distance. I got scared by having such feelings – such feelings I should never have,'' he swallows heavily, pausing. ''I was a coward.''

''I'm sorry, Eren. I'm sorry.''

Eren's breath comes out in small frantic puffs, fanning over Levi's throat. It takes a while before he can breathe normally again, and when he can, he detaches himself slightly, looking Levi in the eyes.

The skin around Levi's eyes are a bit swollen, and his eyes look exhausted – but at the same time strangely affirming and true. A single tear slides down his cheek from his right eye, and he closes his them and gathers himself.

Eren grasps at Levi's biceps, feeling his presence under his fingertips. It is strange. It is the first time he has ever touched Levi – and Levi is bulkier than he is, and probably taller than him now. His voice has another tune to it, but his eyes are the same.

''I can't forgive the old you,'' he lets out a shaky breath, his grip on Levi clenching. ''But I can welcome the new you,'' he says, and Levi opens his mouth to speak, but closes it again.

''That's good enough to me,'' he says with a fond smile, still recovering.

However, afterwards the big prize comes, and Levi nearly stops breathing when a fist collides to his cheek seconds later. It stings a bit, but at the same time relieves him. He looks up at Eren, who has his mouth pursed.

Without any further thought, Eren leans in a gives Levi's lips a quick peck, hurriedly drawing back again – warmth extending along his cheeks.

Levi stares wide-eyed back at him, as if not realizing what just happened.

''Be true to your feelings, and don't ever do that to me again,'' Eren grouses, giving him a long stare.

''I won't,'' Levi chuckles, although he takes it very seriously.

''I mean it.''

''I promise.''

''I'm still mad at you, so this-'' he flails with his arms and mimics the kiss from before –

'' - won't change anything.''

Levi sighs. ''I know. Let me make it up for you.''

''You don't need to make up for anything. Just be true to yourself and learn along the way. What's happened, happened. You can't go back in time – so let's just start anew.''

Levi blinks at this.

Eren removes himself from his crotch and moves backwards; sitting on his shins between Levi's spread legs.

He extends his hands, indicating for Levi to shake it.

''Hey. My name is Eren. What's your name?''

Levi smiles.


End file.
